Recurrent dynamics in the cerebral cortex: Integration of sensory evidence with stored knowledge

Abstract

Title: Significance This review attempts to unite three hitherto rather unconnected concepts of basic functions of the cerebral cortex, taking the visual system as an example: 1) feed-forward processing in multilayer hierarchies (labeled line coding), 2) dynamic association of features (assembly coding), and 3) matching of sensory evidence with stored priors (predictive coding). The latter two functions are supposed to rely on the high-dimensional dynamics of delay-coupled recurrent networks. Discharge rates of neurons (rate code) and temporal relations among discharges (temporal code) are identified as conveying complementary information. Thus, the new concept accounts for the coexistence of feed-forward and recurrent processing, accommodates both rate and temporal codes, and assigns crucial functions to the complex dynamics emerging from recurrent interactions.